Kakashi's Girlfriend
by smith at the city
Summary: A note dropped from Kakashi's favourite book has a female scrawl and heart on it. Could Team 7's sensei have a girlfriend? Could this girlfriend help Team 7 uncover the mystery of their teacher.


"That concludes the mission for today," Kakashi said to his students. Like always, it was Naruto who seemed to be worse for wear, Sakura and Sasuke had to half-drag and half-carry him after the mission was unofficially concluded. Unofficially being that it was done before Kakashi-sensei put his seal of approval on it. "I'll see you tomorrow for the next mission."

With that he left, opening his book of Icha Icha Paradise as he did so. Unlike most cases, this time the a piece of paper flew from the book and the wind carried it away from him. Kakashi apparently didn't notice it. The trio did though and Naruto jumped out of his teammates hold to catch it. He succeeded but instead of catching it by hand, the piece of paper slapped itself onto his face. He fell on the ground trying to peel the paper from his skin.

"Get it off me!" he shouted as he pulled it off, in vain.

"Naruto, you can be so dumb," Sakura said with exasperation," Why do you care so much for a piece of paper that Kakashi-sensei dropped?"

"You don't get it? Maybe this piece of paper has Kakashi-sensei's real face in it." Naruto made that face again and Sakura punched him.

"You really are a moron, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei isn't a vain man, if he was he wouldn't be wearing a mask," Sasuke said.

"That's so right, Sasuke," Sakura agreed with stars in her eyes.

Naruto fell in defeat. However, he saw the paper in his hand. "Finally, this paper contains something we don't know about our sensei!"

The two crowded him as he opened it. The excitement grew as Naruto folded it bit by bit. The paper was unfolded, revealing it to be a note with a feminine scrawl. It read:

See you again, Kakashi. Same place, same time?

It ended with a drawing of a heart.

Sakura covered her mouth in surprise.

Naruto's jaw dropped open.

Sasuke's eyes bugged out of their sockets.

They all thought of the same thing. Kakashi-sensei has a girlfriend. No doubt about that.

"I can't believe this!" Naruto exclaimed," How can Kakashi-sensei keep this from us? A girlfriend we don't know of!"

"Maybe it's like Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei, Ino told me how secretive they're trying to be but it's obvious," Sakura said, deep in thought.

"And we should care, why?" Sasuke asked.

"Duh, we get her, she can show us how Kakashi-sensei looks like without the mask or make him take it off and show us!" Naruto replied with a holier-than-thou expression.

"But Kakashi-sensei opens to people he can trust, do you know of anyone who would spill his guts out on our sensei?" Sasuke countered.

That stopped Naruto. Momentarily only. "Believe it, we can make her tell us!"

"She's older than us, more experienced, could be a jounin," Sakura remarked. Inner Sakura: Alright! We'll beat it out of her!

"First, we have to find her," Sasuke said.

"Believe it, our plan starts tomorrow!" There was enthusiasm oozing out of Naruto.

They all agreed and disappeared.

* * *

><p>Next Day<p>

"So we're going to be a five man team today?" Naruto asked Kakashi.

"Well yes, the mission details will be made clear when we get their but they requested a female jounin, experienced. We'll meet her when we get to the Boulder Village."

"Boulder Village?" Sakura exclaimed," They have the hairiest, crudest, disgusting men ever! They're like cavemen!"

"Hmm, sounds suspicious," Sasuke said.

"Well, we're still going, believe it!" Naruto started pumping himself up.

"He seems enthusiastic today," Kakashi remarked to his other students.

The two stiffened as they nodded their heads. _Must not give out secret. Not give out secret._

"Are we there yet?" Naruto asked as they jumped branch to branch in a forest.

"Not yet," Sakura replied.

"Are we there yet?" Naruto asked as they climbed up a rocky mountain.

"Not yet," Sasuke replied.

"Are we there yet?" Naruto asked as they fought through a sandstorm.

"Not yet," Kakashi replied.

"We're not there yet, aren't we?" Naruto asked, too tired to keep up. So were Sakura and Sasuke.

"As a matter of fact, we're here," Kakashi replied as he put a hand over his eyes to see the clearing in front of him.

Sakura was right, the village seemed to be made by cavemen, set up with stones, rocks and boulders. So was her remark on the village's men. They really looked like Neanderthals, worse they looked like the Idiot Brothers in Konoha, all brawn no brains or at least no normal-sized brain perhaps they were like ostriches, their eyes were bigger than their brains.

The biggest of them all had a moustache shaped like an M, a hat shaped like a tepee obscuring the hair on his head. His body was shaped like a gourd, small on top large on the bottom, and his shirt was unbuttoned exposing the fat that had accumulated through the years. To Naruto, he looked like a Daruma doll without the red colour.

"Greetings, we are glad to receive the ninjas of Konoha," the man said," I am the mayor here and it was daughter who asked for your help. My name is Bakachibi. As you can see, your other acquaintance arrived earlier than you."

The students looked at the shadowy silhouette approaching them, they could only tell she was a girl but as she approached them the more clearly they saw her. Flowing black hair, red and white outfit, bandages, the red eyes. It was Kurenai-sensei!

"Ah, Kurenai-san, good to see you've made it." Kakashi then looked at her thoughtfully. "You've put them all in genjutsu. They think you're a man."

Kurenai sighed. "Apparently, they still believe in the club method or at least knocking the woman you like out and then you can bag yourself a wife."

"Thank God, they're stupid, they would have been on you in seconds."

"I wish A-" Kurenai stopped herself.

"So now that you're done talking, I'll bring you to my daughter," Bakachibi said. He walked off and gestured the five to follow him.

They arrived in his house, a hut shaped like a pile of boulders but it was the biggest so it wasn't hard to miss. They entered and came through winding corridors and steep stairs until they reached a room that was labelled "Bride-to-be."

Kakashi heard soft crying, so did Kurenai.

"Miyako, I brought them here."

"Oh father, you didn't have," a voice said coming from the room," Please come in, ninjas from Konoha."

"Alright, I'll leave them here," Bakachibi said, he turned and left them.

The five entered to see a young lady bowing before them, red eyes swollen from crying copious amounts of tears, she was wearing a dowdy kimono that had seen better days.

"Ninjas of Konoha, I beg you to help me escape this place," Miyako said as she prostrated herself before them. More tears fell from her face.

"Well, what's the matter?" Naruto asked her.

"I am turning twenty tomorrow, that is the legal age for getting married here. I don't want to be married to someone who will knock my unconscious, I want a man of my own choosing."

"Your father agreed on this?" Kurenai asked.

"Yes, he's very traditional."

Kakashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well this would be easy, I have a plan."

That night, Sakura and Kurenai shared a room together. "You sure there's nothing between you and Asuma-sensei, Kurenai-sensei?" Sakura asked the jounin.

"Of course not," Kurenai said defensively.

Thinking Kurenai-sensei was desperate to change the subject, Sakura changed the subject. "Oh well, then it's just a rumour then. I really don't see any happy endings right now." Sakura sighed.

"What makes you think that?" Kurenai asked.

"Oh there's me, Sasuke, and Ino. There's Mizuke and Tsubaki, was that a mess. There's you and Asuma-sensei. It's obvious there won't be anyone getting married anytime soon. Taka Kakashi-sensei for example, he doesn't even have anyone he's seeing right now."

Kurenai looked thoughtful. "Well there has been rumours that Kakashi goes to a certain place to meet a certain girl, but I'm not sure with that."

"Well it's just a rumour, as if Kakashi-sensei is in a relationship," Sakura said with a fake giggle. Inner Sakura: Yes! I have something to report to the gang!

The next day, there was a hunt for the missing bride.

"Miyako, where are you?" a man asked with a club in his hand.

"Over here, darling," Miyako said, peeping out of a house.

"Stand still Miyako, let me just -!" Bom, the club connected to her skull. Dust whipped out and made it impossible to see, when the man looked around, Miyako wasn't there anymore.

"Good job, Naruto, just place the clones where it's impossible to know for sure that they're clones."

Miyako appeared in front of them with an envelope. "Thank you for helping me, here is the reward I promised." The envelope jingled promisingly with coins.

"Yosh, our missions are done!" Sakura said.

"Eh? We only had one mission, Sakura," Kakashi said.

"Oh, sorry speech is a bit slurred right now, must be the alcohol tainted food we had last night."

"I'm feeling a woozy too, Kakashi-sensei but I can manage." Naruto and Sakura exchanged triumphant glances.

"Let's go then, the earlier we leave, the more likely they won't catch us," Sasuke said and left first.

"Let's head back to Konoha, Kakashi-san," Kurenai said.

Kakashi put his book back in the pouch. Another paper flew out.

* * *

><p>Next Day...<p>

"So there have been rumours that Kakashi-sensei has been meeting this girl," Naruto said with that scary face.

Sakura punched him again.

"So it confirms the note Kakashi-sensei dropped," Sasuke said," So how do we find her?"

"We have her note," Sakura said thoughtfully," You have sharingan, Sasuke, why don't you replicate her handwriting in this note and then post it all around the village. "

"What happens if Kakashi-sensei finds out?"

"We'll have to get that book," Naruto said with a frown.

"Not really, I found this," Sasuke said as he pulled out a piece of paper that Kakashi dropped.

The note read:

Ichiraku Ramen? Your treat, I paid the last time.

Another heart, it was dated yesterday. Kakashi had taken time off today.

Lightbulbs flashed in their heads.

"So how is the bookshop, Ryoko?" Kakashi asked his date.

"Fine, I fired the clerk I hired a month ago. He was starting to steal from me," She replied. She groped her section for chopsticks. Kakashi poked her with one.

"Thank you, Kakashi-san." She took it and broke it in half.

"On your count?"

"Nah, I did that the last time, Kakashi-san, your turn."

"Alright. One ... Two ... Three ... Ita-!"

"Hold it right there, Kakashi-sensei!"

The two stopped. "Stay there, Ryoko, it's just one of my students, Naruto."

"Take your time," Ryoko said. She heard Kakashi leave and put her head on the table. "So hungry. Stupid diet."

"What happened?" Kakashi asked with deceptive idleness. He looked at his students glaring accusations into him.

"Why are you acting like Asuma-sensei?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know very well what I mean. Your girlfriend."

"My ... Oh, I see I have a secret girlfriend I've been hiding from you," Kakashi said carefully.

"Yeah," Sakura said. Inner Sakura: This is Grade A gossip, I can just imagine Ino's face when I tell her Kakashi-sensei has a girlfriend.

Sasuke pretended that the scene wasn't at all interesting him.

Kakashi looked at them seriously. Too seriously, suddenly they felt like they were back to when they first met their teacher.

Kakashi smiled, confusing them and coughed to hide his laughter. "A girlfriend, that's a good one. The girl I am eating with right now is my girlfriend."

"So sorry, Kakashi-san but I am so hungry," Ryoko said as she started to put some ramen in her mouth.

"Ryoko, there are some people I want you to meet."

"Thank goodness, saved by a voice," Ryoko muttered as she pushed herself off her seat. She groped for her stick and followed Kakashi's voice.

The girl Team 7 imagined was far from what she actually was. She was the same age as them really and she was blind, a old dented forehead protector of Konoha covered her eyes. "Pleased to meet you, my name is Ryoko, I'm a friend of Kakashi-san's."

Team 7's eyes bugged out and then Sakura punched Naruto.

"So Ryoko, these are my students, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke."

"Ryoko ambled over to them to shake hands. "Nice to meet you, Naruto, Sakura and Sasu...ke, Uchiha Sasuke, am I right?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, not another fangirl.

Inner Sakura: Let me at her!

"Nice to meet you," Ryoko repeated.

The students of team 7 left, leaving Kakashi and Ryoko to eat their ramen in peace.

"So Kakashi-san, are we going back to that place after this?"

"Of course, that's where your sister is, besides I have to visit someone else also."

"Let's go, Ryoko."

* * *

><p>The memorial was, like any other day, empty once again. Other than Kakashi and herself, Ryoko didn't know anyone else who stayed as long as they did.<p>

"Rin, how's life up there?" she asked the stone as she fingered the engraving of Rin's name.

They were silent then. "Kakashi-san, do you think anyone is looking?"

"No, it's safe to remove it."

Ryoko untied the forehead protector that covered her eyes and slowly opened them. Her eyes were white and she activated her sharingan. Her eyes became red, however the tomoe and her pupils were white. It was a result of her heritage, an Uchiha and a Hyūga.

Ryoko laughed softly. "Kakashi-san, thanks for letting me meet him."

"Hmm?"

"Don't play dumb with me. I've met my only cousin, maybe paternal? Maybe maternal side? I don't care about that. I should meet them soon, my other side cousins. I wonder when it will be?" She turned to him and stanced herself into a fighting position. "This is perhaps the last sparring I'll have with you now that you have your students, Kakashi-san. Don't go easy on me."

Kakashi sighed and put back the book he had been reading back in his pouch and revealed his sharingan. "Wasn't going to. You're a fast learner, that's the Gentle Fist stance."

"Just because I don't meet them doesn't mean I don't watch them, I watch that girl with long hair."

"I think you mean Neji, he's a guy."

"Whatever. Shall we?"

"On the count of three. One … Two … Three!"

"You really didn't go easy on me. I appreciate that, Kakashi-san," Ryoko said as held on to his neck. The match ended with her spraining her ankle. Now she was being carried on his back and covered her eyes with the dented forehead protector.

"You did request it"

"I did."

They walked in companionable silence for some time before Kakashi broke it. "Say, Ryoko, why haven't you ever tried to see what's beneath my mask?"

He felt her shrug. "It's true I've been dying to know, Kakashi-san, but my sister, Rin, respected you. I respect you too so I don't do it."

"Alright."

They both looked at the stars as Kakashi brought her back to her home.

"Kakashi-san, one more thing..."

"Hmm?"

"I know Rin isn't my biological sister but is it right for me to inherit the bookstore?"

Kakashi quietened. "When Rin had you, she decided then and there to retire, so that she could take care of you better and she opened the bookstore. I suppose she knew if you didn't have anything, you would have become a ninja and she wouldn't want that, she promised that to your real parents and when she passed on, she transferred it to me."

He felt the tension leave her body. "Thanks Kakashi-san, you're the best."


End file.
